It is commonly experienced, by many office workers in particular, that prolonged periods of sitting may cause foot, leg and lower back strain. It is well known that such strain can be reduced by providing a foot support, typically located on the floor underneath the work station. To thereby produce effective results, the footrest should both elevate and inclinate the feet to a comfortable position.
A major design consideration is that the end users of a footrest may vary over a wide range of heights and body sizes. Previous efforts in making commercially available footrests at reasonable prices include making footrests which have a fixed height and angle of inclination predetermined by what would be comfortable for an average user. Such units may be undesirable as they accomplish their purpose only for that limited segment of the population which reasonably meets the average size criteria in that they cannot be adjusted to meet personal needs or preferences.
One attempt to design an adjustable footrest utilizes a slotted foot support which pivots on an axle or cam arrangement. The user may adjust the height of elevation and angle of inclination by loosening a turnhandle which allows the foot support to pivot. Once the desired position is obtained the turnhandle may be tightened. Numerous drawbacks accompany such a design. If the turnhandle is not reset tight enough the foot support could pivot from its desired position when placed under a load such as when the user rests his or her feet upon it. Furthermore, such a design necessitates substantial or repeated bending in order to adjust the position of the support or to turn the handle and also may require substantial strength to sufficiently tighten the turnhandle to prevent the foot support from slipping.
It is thus apparent that the state of the prior art is such that the need exists for a footrest which provides comfortable and convenient use by a wide variety of the end user population, which is easily adjustable to suit individual preferences and which requires minimal effort to accomplish the desired adjustments.